Networked rendering devices can interact with an assemblage of other rendering devices, client devices, servers, and other components that are connected to and communicate over a network. One example of a rendering device is a MFD (Multi-Function Device), which includes the functionality of multiple rendering devices such as printers, scanners, faxes, copy machines, and so forth. Such networked rendering devices may be subjected to various faults such as, for example, a paper jam in a paper path, an empty toner housing and the like which impact system operation. Such fault condition may result in immediate shutdown of the rendering device, depending upon the severity of the fault. Diagnostic techniques are generally employed to fix the faults in more complex rendering devices, and to identify the cause of failure in a machine component from a failure symptom, as well as to predict the occurrence of a particular failure type from precursors.
The majority of prior art approaches for indicating the presence of rendering device faults to an operator are well known. In one prior art approach, for example, a graphical representation of the device can be displayed via a local user interface associated with the networked rendering device. The difficulty associated with such an approach is that the operator must view each set of detailed instructions to identify the affected areas in the rendering device. In another prior art approach, for example, the problems associated with the rendering device can be conveyed to a service personnel via a cryptic code. Such an approach can be labor intensive and requires skilled and trained agents to detect the problem associated with the code and is time-consuming and prone to error.
Based on the foregoing, it is believed that a need exist for an improved augmented reality system and method for diagnosing and fixing a fault in a device, as described in greater detail herein.